The Most Educational YouTube Channels for Kids

The allure of YouTube spans age levels and even generations. You just never know what you might find when you log on! Of course, as a parent, you want to make sure that what your child, tween or teen sees is as wholesome and educational as possible.

As Anxious Toddlers points out, it really is no longer an option to just keep your kids from ever watching YouTube or similar online channels. Instead, you have the daunting parenting task of teaching them how to interact with YouTube in safe, respectful and empowering ways.

But finding great educational videos on YouTube doesn’t have to be a chore – check out these 16 amazing channels for kids, tweens and teens. You may even find yourself sneaking a peak while your kids watch!

Science YouTube Channels

Science is getting cooler and cooler, as these five YouTube channels prove!

PBS Nova. From wild animal behavior to number crunching and everything in between, NOVA simply proves that the world we live in is a world where anything is possible. The site averages 5 million viewers each week!

The Brain Scoop. This YouTube channel is spearheaded by the Chicago Field Museum. The channel features several different sub-channels on a wide variety of topics including Amazon wildlife, archeology, earth science and many other entertaining and educational options.

Minute Physics. The likes of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking made the word “physics” cool, but in these short clips, physics also becomes touchable – real. Black holes, seeing without glasses, gravity, dark matter and particle duality are just some of the everyday topics tackled in these easily digestible 60-second clips.

Coma Niddy. This young geek rapper makes science and cosmology ultra-cool and also quite memorable. He raps through topics as diverse as identifying real fossils, coping with face mites and how to care for jeans properly.

Flocabulary. This YouTube channel wonders how science, social studies, math, language arts and other common school topics could get any cooler than when set to hip hop beats!

STEM & STEAM YouTube Channels

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and STEAM (add “Art) are all the rage right now in the education world. These videos can bring STEM/STEAM to life for your kids.

Hot Wheels Labs. With this channel, your children will learn about physics while playing with their Hot Wheels. Lessons include explanations of gravity, how power is generated, and how to determine the trajectory of a jump. The Pley Hot Wheels Challenge Accepted Box is the perfect compliment to this YouTube channel so your young physicists can put their new found knowledge to use building epic ramps and car goal posts.

Geek Gurl Diaries. The UK’s Carrie Ann Philbin is this show’s enthusiastic host. More than just teaching computer programming, Philbin demonstrates all the fun things you can do when you learn a programming language.

Khan Academy. First launched as an online tutoring site for kids, today Khan Academy has hundreds upon hundreds of videos to help kids master math, science, physics and biology, among others.

Math Antics. This YouTube channel makes math fun for your kids by bringing it to life and giving basic mathematical principles real world context.

What Do We Do All Day? Developed with grade-school children in mind, this channel has several playlists to focus on crafts, science and art projects, puzzles, games of strategy and more, turning theoretical lessons into practical, hands-on learning opportunities.

ExpeRimental. This awesome STEM channel features experiments your kids can do at home with a few items commonly kept in most households. This video channel is sponsored by the Royal Institution of Great Britain.

Empowerment YouTube Channels

Kids and teens empowerment will never go out of style, and it is needed more than ever in the anonymous online world we now live in.

Smart Girls. Comedian and actress Amy Pohler is the brain power behind Smart Girls. This popular series helps girls learn to support and empower one another.

Soul Pancake. Molding tomorrow’s leaders is what this uplifting channel is all about. Actor Rainn Wilson is a co-founder. The series showcases kids of all ages and ethnic backgrounds doing great things.

Kids Are Heroes. This motivational YouTube channel is created by the same-named nonprofit organization Kids Are Heroes. Your children can watch lots of activities that young leaders are involved in while you check “empowered parenting” off your daily to-do list.

We Stop Hate. Created by a kid-turned-teen who was bullied and learned to become an anti-bullying leader instead, this inspiring YouTube channel is also a book-in-progress written by the founder and teens around the world. With messages like “positive things happen to positive people,” you won’t find better inspiration for your kids online.

Your child’s YouTube channel! Some parents have powerful things to say about allowing their children to create their own personal YouTube channel (see #4 here for a compelling example in favor of this). One great idea is to let your child show off their skills with Pley’s bi-monthly subscription boxes, which are full of rich, educational puzzles and projects to keep young minds bright!

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